PACKERVILLE, U.S.A.: 2023 NFL WEEK 15

Week 15 – Buccaneers-Packers Preview is HERE.

Bucs, Packers seeking to improve playoff hopes as they face off at Lambeau

Associated Press

TAMPA BAY (6-7) at GREEN BAY (6-7)

DAY / TIME / TV: Sunday, 12:00 p.m. CST, CBS

SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 34-23-1

LAST MEETING: Packers beat Buccaneers 14-12 at Tampa on Sept. 25, 2022.

LAST WEEK: Buccaneers won 29-25 at Atlanta on Sunday; Packers lost 24-22 on the road against the New York Giants on Monday night

PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (18), RUSH (19), PASS (18), SCORING (17-T)

PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (31), PASS (8), SCORING (11)

BUCCANEERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (29), PASS (20), SCORING (22).

BUCCANEERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (27), RUSH (10), PASS (30), SCORING (13).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Buccaneers plus-6; Packers even

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is visiting Lambeau Field in December for a third straight year, each time with a different team.

This season's version of Mayfield could give the Green Bay Packers the most problems.

Mayfield threw four interceptions in Cleveland's 24-22 loss to Green Bay on Christmas Day 2021 that marked his second-to-last appearance with the Browns, who took him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft. He went 12 of 21 for 111 yards with a touchdown and an interception on Dec. 19 of last year as the Los Angeles Rams lost 24-12.

He has played at Lambeau enough to know what to expect when his Bucs (6-7) visit the Packers (6-7) on Sunday.

“I’ve only played there in December, so yeah, it’s kind of hit or miss with the weather and what you’re going to get,” Mayfield said. “Guys just have to be prepared for the grass. That’s something I learned pretty quickly – it’s slick. This late in the year, obviously it’s not in the best condition. It’s a little bit longer, so you’ve got to be ready for that.”

Mayfield threw a go-ahead touchdown pass in the final minute of a 29-25 victory at Atlanta that enabled the Bucs to grab a share of the NFC South lead. The Packers are clinging to the NFC’s third and final wild-card spot after losing 24-22 to the New York Giants on Monday, a defeat that snapped a three-game winning streak.

Tampa Bay and Green Bay are among six NFC teams with 6-7 records, making the postseason implications of Sunday’s game apparent.

“We’ve just got to be ready to play playoff football,” Packers defensive lineman TJ Slaton said. “That’s how I look at it.”

Boosting the Bucs’ playoff hopes with a third straight win would help Mayfield erase his unpleasant Lambeau Field memories.

“It’s a historical place,” Mayfield said. “I grew up a huge Brett Favre fan, so the first time I got to go up there, I just kind of took it all in pregame. When it comes down to it, it’s still a football field when the game comes. It’s a special place to play and a great opportunity for us in this end-of-season push that we have coming on. They’re in a similar situation as us, so it’s going to be a good matchup.”

ON THE RUN

Tampa Bay finished last in the NFL in rushing a year ago and is ranked 29th in that category this year with 90 yards per game, but the Bucs have improved in that regard lately. The Bucs ran for a season-best 148 yards at Atlanta for their third straight game with 125 or more, the team’s longest such stretch since 2015. Green Bay's defense has allowed at least 140 yards rushing in five straight games. The Packers will be trying to rebound after giving up 209 yards rushing to the Giants, the fourth game in which they’ve yielded at least 200. “We’ve just got to do our job every single play,” Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell said. “It’s not rocket science. It’s not hard. You’ve just got to do your job. That’s it.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Tampa Bay’s Rachaad White rushed for a season-high 102 yards against the Falcons. He also scored on a 31-yard reception and finished with a career-best 135 yards from scrimmage. The second-year pro ranks fourth among running backs in scrimmage yards with 1,164, behind San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey (1,614), Jacksonville’s Travis Etienne (1,189) and Buffalo’s James Cook (1,180). “He knows when to run it in there and when to bounce it out,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “The maturation process for him has been really good.”

BOUNCING BACK

Both teams recovered from slow starts to work their way into playoff contention. The Bucs lost four straight games to fall to 3-5 but have gone 3-2 since, including wins over Carolina and Atlanta the last two weeks. Green Bay had its own four-game skid to drop to 2-5 before winning four of its last six games.

ROOKIE RECEIVERS

Green Bay’s Jordan Love has been throwing primarily to rookies and second-year pros in his first season as a starter. Many of those newcomers have stepped up. In the loss to the Giants, Malik Heath became the sixth Packers rookie with a touchdown reception this season. That’s the most by any team in the Super Bowl era, excluding the 1987 strike season.

SHINING IN DECEMBER

Green Bay’s loss to the Giants dropped coach Matt LaFleur to 16-1 in December. The Packers haven't lost a December home game since falling 31-0 to the Detroit Lions on Dec. 30, 2018.

BUCCANEERS PLAYER TO WATCH

QB Baker Mayfield is making the most of an opportunity to jump-start his career with Tampa Bay, his fourth team in the past two years. He’s tied for eighth in the NFL with 42 completions of 20-plus yards and has thrown 20 touchdown passes with eight interceptions. He also has six road games with two-plus TD passes, most in the NFL. Mayfield lost at Lambeau Field the past two years, as a member of the Cleveland Browns in 2021 and Los Angeles Rams in 2022.

PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH

QB Jordan Love’s performance has been a pretty accurate barometer of the Packers’ success. He has thrown 13 touchdown passes and one interception in Green Bay’s six wins. He has 10 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions in the Packers’ seven losses.

KEY MATCHUP

Buccaneers RB Rachaad White vs. Packers run defense: White has rushed for at least 100 yards in two of his past three games. He ran for 102 yards and scored on a 31-yard reception in the Bucs’ victory over the Falcons. Green Bay has allowed at least 140 yards rushing in its past five games. The Packers have given up at least 200 yards on the ground in four games this season.

KEY INJURIES

Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis (groin), DL Will Gholston (knee/ankle) have been ruled out for Sunday's game… Bucs S Ryan Neal (back) and NT Vita Vea (toe) are doubtful… Bucs CB Jamel Dean (ankle/foot), WR Chris Godwin (knee), LS Zach Triner (elbow) and LB Devin White (foot) are questionable… Packers WR Christian Watson (hamstring) is doubtful… Packers CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder), RB AJ Dillon (thumb), RB Aaron Jones (knee), S Darnell Savage (shoulder), CB Eric Stokse (hamstring), LB Quay Walker (shoulder) and WR Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) are questionable.

SERIES NOTES

The Packers have won 14 of their past 15 regular-season home matchups with the Buccaneers, though the Bucs’ most recent Super Bowl run included a 31-26 NFC championship game victory at Lambeau Field on Jan. 24, 2021. Bucs LB Shaquil Barrett had three sacks and two tackles for loss that day, while WR Chris Godwin had five catches for 122 yards… The Packers have won four of the past five regular-season matchups overall… Romeo Doubs had eight catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in the Packers’ victory at Tampa Bay last season. The Packers clinched that victory by stopping a potential tying 2-point conversion attempt with 14 seconds remaining.

STATS AND STUFF

Since entering the league as a second-round draft pick in 2020, Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. ranks first among defensive backs in sacks (13) and forced fumbles (nine). He had his fourth sack and fourth forced fumble of the season in the victory at Atlanta… White ranks fourth among NFL running backs in yards from scrimmage (1,164) behind San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey (1,614), Jacksonville’s Travis Etienne (1,189) and Buffalo’s James Cook (1,180)… Bucs WR Mike Evans has 62 receptions for 1,020 yards and 10 TDs. It’s his fifth season with 1,000-plus yards and 10 or more touchdown catches… The Packers had won 16 straight December games before losing to the Giants on Monday night. They haven’t lost a December game at home since falling 31-0 to the Detroit Lions on Dec. 30, 2018… Love has thrown six touchdown passes and no interceptions over his past three home games. … Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon is the NFL’s leading kickoff returner with an average of 27 yards per attempt. Nixon did fumble a punt that led to a touchdown in the loss to the Giants… Packers WR Jayden Reed has five touchdown catches and two touchdown runs. McCaffrey is the only other NFL player with five-plus touchdown catches and multiple touchdown runs this season… Since 1990, the Packers are 14-1 in home regular-season games against the Buccaneers. The only team with a better home record against a single opponent in that span with more than 10 games played is the Steelers with a 29-2 home record against the Browns… Just 5.9 percent (16/270) of the points allowed by Tampa Bay this season have been after turnovers. That would be the lowest such percentage by an NFL team since the 2017 Kansas City Chiefs (6.5%)… Rachaad White needs two more catches to become the third Buccaneer to have 200+ rushes and 50+ receptions in the same season. He would join Michael Pittman (2002) and James Wilder (1984 and 1985)… Green Bay has played in seven games decided by four points or less this season (2-5 in those games), tied with the Browns for the most such games in 2023. It is the most such games in a single season by the Packers since they played in eight in the Super Bowl-winning season of 2010 (2-6 in those games)… Jordan Love has had at least 20 completions and one touchdown pass in all six home games. That ties him with Brett Favre in 1994 for most consecutive home starts with 20+ completions and 1+ TD passes to begin a season in team history… Jayden Reed scored his second rushing touchdown of the season on Monday, tying him for the team lead this season. Reed would be the first rookie wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to lead his team in rushing touchdowns (including ties)…